Social factors associated with adolescent pregnancy

Abstract

Pregnancy during adolescence can lead to a number of changes that affect the personal development and lives of adolescent girls. Social factors, such as lack of education in sexual and reproductive health, pose a risk to mother and child, especially in cases where abortion is induced before the age of 20 years. The objective was to determine the social factors related to pregnancy in adolescents attending the gynecology and obstetrics service of the León Becerra Camacho General Hospital of Milagro; also to identify the social and sexual risk behaviors, as well as the characteristics of social behaviors including the consumption of alcoholic substances and drugs, the use of free time and the family environment of the adolescent. A non-experimental descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample consisted of 250 pregnant adolescents. Observation and interview techniques were used for data collection in order to obtain authentic information directly from the pregnant adolescents and to identify their points of view, attitudes or behaviors that were consistent with the objectives. According to the sociodemographic characteristics, 58% of the adolescents ranged between 16 and 18 years of age. Sixty-nine percent have between one and two children, and the mean age is 17 years with a standard deviation of 2.39. Seventy-nine percent are enrolled in high school, and 81% reported that their first sexual experience was with classmates who identify as their partner.  The social factors associated with adolescent pregnancy in this study were approval of sexual behavior and emotional changes induced by peer group membership.